Review of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) by Allan C — 01 Apr 2017

The Shaw Brothers Shawscope opening perfectly sets the tone for the type of film you're about to see. A pretty high percentage of Shaw Brothers martial arts films were focused around revenge, often for the killing someone's master, but if this movie can be summed up in one sentence, it's that it's the ultimate revenge film.

Volume one of this story is primarily a love letter to Asian genre cinema, kung-fu films, samurai films, and Yakuza films. Still, there are also nods to blaxploitation and spaghetti westerns, as well a little bit of anime.

The film begins with a bloody Uma Thurman in a wedding dress being left for dead by her former boss, Bill, and the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. She awakens years later from a coma sets out on a "roaring rampage of revenge.

" For audience members who are fans of the genres being honored here, this film is an amazing experience. Tarantino takes these disreputable genres and make the most suped-up version of them ever.

Just a quick glance at the supporting cast tells you this film is going to be amazing, featuring genre regulars Sonny Chiba, Gordon Liu, and David Carradine as Bill (although he's only heard and not seen in Vol.

1). You also get some super cool more modern of actors who include Michael Madsen, Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu, and Daryl Hannah rounding out the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. In this entry I the two part series, Thurman, know only as The Bride, faces down Vivica Fox in the film's opening fight scene, expertly choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping.

The film then builds to an amazing climactic battle in the "Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves," where the Bride faces down a ferocious Lucy Liu. That fight sequence makes nods to many classics, ranging from the films of Seijun Suzuki, to Kinji Fukasaku films, to any number of Shaw Brothers films, and in particular a climactic showdown between Thurman and Lui that strongly recalls "Lady Snowblood" in the best sort of way.

The Sonny Chiba cameo is a lot of fun, but getting to see Gordon Liu fight is super exciting. For fans of modern extreme Asian cinema, there are some actors from "Ichi the Killer" and Chiaki Kuriyama from the amazing "Battle Royale" in a memorable role as Lucy Lui's schoolgirl dressed bodyguard.

There are so many thing sI love about this film. There's the animated sequence that plays out like Tarantino's 10-minute Yazuka film. There's The Bride's plane ride to Tokyo that looks like something straight out of Gerry Anderson film.

I also loved Tarantino's use of existing film scores for his film, which is something Hong Kong kung-fu films notoriously did. Tarantino also uses sound so well in all his films, often favoring minimalistic sounds, so that certain elements stand out.

And the silence during the "Lady Snowblood" climactic battle is just brilliant, something right out of Sergio Leone. If I have one gripe about this film, it's that I've never been a fan of director of photography Robert Richardson's penchant for his bright key lights right on top of performers heads, giving them a rather bright blown-out look.

This seemed particularly noticeable during the "House of Blue Leaves" segment. Still, for a film this enjoyable, that's a minor quibble. Overall, like most Tarantino films, this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but that's in large part why I love Tarantino films so much.

He's making them for himself and not for a wide audience. If you share his film obsessions, you'll be obsessed with this film.